The Divine School

He waited until he found
a man in no hurry.
He asked the man,
"Why are there rich and poor?"
The man replied,
"Without intentionality there is poverty.
With intentionality there is abundance."
"Intentions are important?"
"Clear intentions are golden;
confused intentions snarl life."

Reading each of the thirty-eight chapters of The Divine School is like jumping from stone to stone across a stream. The stepping stones, everyday incidents, take the reader on a journey from lonely egotism to joyful participation in community. Like the Desert Fathers of the third and fourth centuries, author Donald Wehmeyer has used aphorisms to invite pilgrims and searchers to move towards the life changing discovery that it is more blessed to serve than to be served. This discovery is at the heart of the Christian message. It is always both counter cultural and counter intuitive. Those who are blessed to learn it often do not have one teacher; rather they catch glimpses of it from series of encounters and discoveries that accumulate in their heart. One surprising day the heart overflows and the final destination is reached.